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Capitalism demands an ever increasing number of mouths to feed.

by pupppet 5y ago

gruez 5y ago
How does capitalism (ie. "private means of production") translate to "ever increasing number of mouths to feed"?
- rackjack 5y ago
  If we interpret "ever increasing number of mouths to feed" as "more people", we can imagine the following: I sell a product. The more people buy my product, the more money I make. The more people there are, the more people will buy my product. The more people there are, the larger the labor pool I can choose from. The larger the labor pool I can choose from, the more the workers' wages get depressed, so my profit margins get bigger. So the more people there are, the more money I make. Obviously this is highly reductionist. Also, I don't think saying capitalism "demands" increased population growth is quite right. We can certainly imagine individual businesses who would not like population growth (e.g. mom-and-pop stores who know that increased local population increases the likelihood of a Walmart being erected and putting them out of business). But on the whole, I think the presence of capitalism trends towards increasing population.
  - gruez 5y ago
    >The more people there are, the larger the labor pool I can choose from. The larger the labor pool I can choose from, the more the workers' wages get depressed, so my profit margins get bigger. This this true? It presumes a bigger labor pool competing for the same amount of available jobs, which isn't true. As the economy grows, there are also more consumers who demand more products, which requires more workers/jobs.
- pupppet 5y ago
  Companies must grow, simple as that.
  - pyuser583 5y ago
    And one of the fastest ways to grow is accomplish more with fewer employees.
    - pupppet 5y ago
      And where do the employees who get laid off work? That solution doesn’t scale.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
pyuser583 5y ago
Capitalism has almost universally correlated with lower population growth.
- pupppet 5y ago
  …taking advantage of growth elsewhere.
  - pyuser583 5y ago
    Why does an increase in GDP per person require more people? If GDP per person is rising, even if the number of people is shrinking, why can’t the total GDP rise as the population shrinks? Especially if the population decline is caused by people focusing on work and having fewer children?
- stormbrew 5y ago
  Capitalism can be correlated with almost anything that happens because capitalism is pervasive.

Capitalism demands an ever increasing number of mouths to feed.

gruez 5y ago

How does capitalism (ie. "private means of production") translate to "ever increasing number of mouths to feed"?

rackjack 5y ago
If we interpret "ever increasing number of mouths to feed" as "more people", we can imagine the following: I sell a product. The more people buy my product, the more money I make. The more people there are, the more people will buy my product. The more people there are, the larger the labor pool I can choose from. The larger the labor pool I can choose from, the more the workers' wages get depressed, so my profit margins get bigger. So the more people there are, the more money I make. Obviously this is highly reductionist. Also, I don't think saying capitalism "demands" increased population growth is quite right. We can certainly imagine individual businesses who would not like population growth (e.g. mom-and-pop stores who know that increased local population increases the likelihood of a Walmart being erected and putting them out of business). But on the whole, I think the presence of capitalism trends towards increasing population.
- gruez 5y ago
  >The more people there are, the larger the labor pool I can choose from. The larger the labor pool I can choose from, the more the workers' wages get depressed, so my profit margins get bigger. This this true? It presumes a bigger labor pool competing for the same amount of available jobs, which isn't true. As the economy grows, there are also more consumers who demand more products, which requires more workers/jobs.
pupppet 5y ago
Companies must grow, simple as that.
- pyuser583 5y ago
  And one of the fastest ways to grow is accomplish more with fewer employees.
  - pupppet 5y ago
    And where do the employees who get laid off work? That solution doesn’t scale.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

pyuser583 5y ago

Capitalism has almost universally correlated with lower population growth.

pupppet 5y ago
…taking advantage of growth elsewhere.
- pyuser583 5y ago
  Why does an increase in GDP per person require more people? If GDP per person is rising, even if the number of people is shrinking, why can’t the total GDP rise as the population shrinks? Especially if the population decline is caused by people focusing on work and having fewer children?
stormbrew 5y ago
Capitalism can be correlated with almost anything that happens because capitalism is pervasive.